Legionella wadsworthii Species Nova: A Cause of Human Pneumonia

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Abstract
A new Legionella sp. that caused pneumonia in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia was characterized. The name L. wadsworthii sp. nov. is proposed for this bacterium. The type strain is Wadsworth 81-716A (American Type Culture Collection 33877). The new species differs phenotypically from L. pneumophila in that the predominant cellular fatty acids is methyl-12-methyltetradecanoic acid (a-15:0) rather than methyl-14-methylpentadecanoic acid (i-16:0), and in its failure to react with L. pneumophila antiserum. The clinical illness caused by L. wadsworthii was not apparently different from that seen with other legionella infections, except for prolonged fever and slow resolution of pulmonary infiltrates.